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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 




GO^B^yr 




THE HOLY GRAIL 



ALFRED LORD TENNYSON 



WITH 
DRAWINGS BY W-' L. TAYLOR 



y\i 17 1892 



BOSTON 
D LOTHROP COMPANY 

WASHINGTON OPPOSITE BROMFIELD STREET 









Copyright, 1S9:;, 

1!V 

D. LoTHROP Company 



(WELL AND CHURCHILL. 



THE HOLY GRAIL 



The Holy Grail 



From noiseful arms, and acts of prowess done 
In tournament or tilt, Sir Percivale, 
Whom Arthur and his knighthood called The Pure, 
Had pass'd into the silent life of prayer, 
Praise, fast, and alms ; and leaving for the cowl 
The helmet in an ahbey far away 
From Camelot, there, and not long after, died. 



And one, a fellow-monk among the rest, 
Ambrosius, loved him nuieh l)ey(>nd the rest, 
And honor'd him, and wron^iiht into his heart 
A way by love that waken 'd love within, 
To answer that which came : and as they sat 
Beneath a world-old yew-tree, darkening half 
The cloisters, on a gustfnl April morn 
That pnfT'd the swaying branches into smoke 
Above them, ere the snmmer when he died. 
The monk Ambrosins qnestion'd Percivale. 

" bi-other, I have seen this yew-tree smoke, 
Spring after spring, for half a hnndred years : 
For never \vd\e I known the world without, 
Nor ever stray 'd beyond the pale : but thee, 
When first thou earnest — such a courtesy 
Spake thro' the limbs and in the voice — I knew 
For one of those who eat in Arthur's hall ; 
For good ye are and bad, and like to coins. 
Some true, some light, but every one of you 
Stamp 'd with the image of the King ; and now^ 
Tell me, what drove thee from the Table Round, 
My brother ? was it earthly passion crost ? ' ' 




" Nay," said the kiiioiit ; 'Mur no .such passion mine. 
But the sweet vision of the Holy Grail 
Drove me from all vain^ilories, rivalries, 
And earthly heats that spring- and sparkle out 
Among us in the jousts, while women watch 
Who wins, who falls ; and waste the spiritual strength 
Within us, better oft'er'd up to Heaven." 



To whom the monk : " The Holy Grail ! — I trust 
We are green in Heaven's eyes ; but here too much 
We molder — as to things without I mean — 
Yet one of your own knights, a guest of ours, 
Told us of this in our refectory, 
But spake with such a sadness and so low 
We heard not half of what he said. What is it ? 
The pliantom of a cup that comes and goes '! " 

" Nay, monk ! what phantom? " answer'd Percivale. 
" The cu}), the cup itself, from which our Lord 
Drank at the last sad supper with his own. 
This, from the l)lessed land of Aroma t — 
After the day of darkness, when the dead 
Went wandering o'er Moriah — the good saint, 
ArimatluTean Joseph, journeying brought 
To Glastonbury, where the winter thorn 
Blossoms at Christmas, mindful of our Lord. 
And there awhile it bode ; and if a man 
Could touch or see it, he was heal'd at once. 
By faith, of all his ills. But then the times 
Grew to such evil that the holy cup 
Was caught away to Heaven, and disappear' d." 



To whom the monk : ' ' From our old books I know 
That Joseph came of ohl to (Thistoiil)ury, 
And there the heathen Prince, Arviragus, 
Gave him an isle of marsh whereon to Ijuild ; 
And there he built with wattles from the marsh 
A little lonely church in days of yore, 
For so they say, these books of ours, but seem 
Mute of this miracle, far as I have read. 
But who first saw the holy thing to-day ? ' ' 

" A woman," answer 'd Percivale, " a nun. 
And one no further off in blood from me 
Than sister ; and if ever holy maid 
With knees of adoration wore the stone, 
A holy maid ; tho' never maiden glow'd, 
But that was in her earlier maidenhood, 
With such a fer^'ent flame of human love. 
Which being rudely blunted, glanced and shot 
Only to holy things : to prayer and praise 
She gave herself, to f\ist and ;dms. And yet. 
Nun as she was, the scandal of the Court, 
Sin against Arthur and the Table Round, 
And the strange sound of an adulterous race, 
Across the iron grating of her cell 
Beat, and she pray'd and tasted all the more. 



" And he to whom she told her sins, or what 
Her all but utter whiteness held for sin, 
A man well nigh a hundred winters old, 
Spake often with her of the Holy Grail, 
A legend handed down thro' five or six. 
And each of these a hundred winters old, 
From our Lord's time. And when King Arthur nuule 
His Table Round, and all men's hearts became 
Clean for a season, surely he had thought 
That now the Holy Grail would come again ; 
But sin broke out. Ah, Christ, that it would come. 
And heal the world of all their wickedness ! 
' Father ! ' asked the maiden, ' might it come 
To me by prayer and fasting? ' ' Nay,' said he, 
' I know not, for thy heart is pure as snow.' 
And so she pray'd and fasted, till the sun 
Shone, and the wind blew, thro' her, and I thought 
She mio'ht have risen and floated when I saw her. 



" For on ;i day she sent to speak witli nie. 
And when she came to speak, hehokl her eyes 
Beyond my knowin,i>' of them, heautiful. 
Beyond all knowing of them, wonderfnl, 
Beautiful in the light of holiness. 
And ' my brother, Percivale,' she said, 
' Sw^eet brother, I have seen the Holy Grail : 
For, waked at dead of night, I heard a sound 
As of a silver horn from o'er the hills 
Blown, and I thought, " It is not Arthur's use 
To hunt by moonlight ' ' ; and the slender sound 
As from a distance beyond distance grew 
Coming upon me — never harp nor horn. 
Nor aught we blow with breath, or touch with hand, 
Was like that music as it came ; and then 
Stream 'd thro' my cell a cold and siher beam. 
And down the long beam stole the Holy Grail, 
Rose-red with beatings in it, as if alive. 
Till all the white walls of my cell were dyed 
With rosy colors leaping on the wall ; 



And then the music faded, and the (Irail 
Pass'd, and the l)eam deeay'd, and tidni the wall; 
The rosy (|uiverin,i;s died into the ni<i;lit. 
So now the Holy Thing is here again 
Among us, brother, fast thou too and pray. 
And tell thy brother knights to fast and pray, 
That so })erehanee the vision may be seen 
By thee and those, and all the world be heal'd.' 



" Then leaving the pale nun, I spake of this 
To all men ; and myself fasted and pray'd 
Always, and many among us many a week 
Fasted and pray'd even to the uttermost. 
Expectant of the w^onder that would be. 

" And one there was among us, ever moved 
Among us in white armor, Galahad. 
' God make thee good as thou art l)eautiful,' 
Said xVrthur, when he dubh'd him knight ; and none. 
In so young youth, w^as ever nnnle a knight 
Till Galahad ; and this Galahad, when he heard 
My sister's vision, fill'd me with amaze ; 
His eyes became so like her own, they seem'd 
Hers, and himself her brother more than I. 

" Sister or brother none had he ; but some 
Call'd him a son of Lancelot, and some said 
Begotten by enchantment — chatterers they. 
Like birds of passage piping up and down. 
That gape for flies — we know not whence they come ; 
For wdien was Lancelot wanderingly lewd ? 



" But she, the wan sweet maiden shore away 
Clean from her forehead all that wealth of hair 
Which made a silken mat-work for her feet ; 
And out of this she plaited broad and long 
A strong sword-belt, and \vo^(' witli siher thread 
And crimson in the belt a strange device, 
A crimson grail within a silver beam ; 
And saw the l)right ))oy-knight, and bound it on him, 
Saying, ' My knight, my love, my knight of heaven, 
() thou, my love, whose love is one witli mine, 
I, maiden, round thee, maiden, bind my belt. 
Go forth, for thou shalt see what I have seen, 
And break thr(»' all, till one will crown thee king 
Far in the spiritual city ; ' and as she spake 
She sent the deathless passion in her eyes 
Thro' him, and made him hers, and laid her mind 
On him, and he belie\ed in her belief. 



fev' II 



w 




" Then came a year of miracle : brother, 
In our great hall there stood a vacant chair, 
Fashion 'cl by Merlin ere he passed away, 
And carven with strange figures ; and in and out 
The figures, like a serpent, ran a scroll 
Of letters in a tongue no man could read. 
And Merlin call'd it ' The Siege perilous,' 
Perilous for good and ill ; ' for there,' he said, 
' No man could sit but he should lose himself : ' 
And once by misadvertence Merlin sat 
In his own chair, and so was lost ; but he, 
Galahad, when he heard of Merlin's doom. 
Cried, ' If I lose myself I save myself! ' 

" Then on a summer night it came to pass. 
While the great banquet lay along the hall. 
That Galahad would sit down in Merlin's chair. 

" And all at once, as there we sat, we heard 
A cracking and a riving of the roofs, 
And rending, and a jjlast, and overhead 
Thunder, and in the thunder was a cry. 



And in the l)last there smote along the hall 
A beam of light se^en times more clear than day 
And down the long beam stole the Holy (h-ail 
All over eover'd with a Inminons elond, 
And none might see who bare it, and it past. 
Bnt e\ery knight beheld his fellow's face 
As in a glory, and all the knights arose, 
And staring earh at other like dnud) men 
Stood, till I (bund a \oiee and sware a vow. 



" I sware a ^■ow before them all, that I, 
Because I had not seen the Grail, would ride 
A twelvemonth and a day in quest of it, 
Until I found and saw it, as the nun 
My sister saw it ; and Galahad sware the vow, 
And good Sir Bors, our Lancelot's cousin, sware. 
And Lancelot sware, and nnmy among the knights. 
And Gawain sware, and louder than the rest." 

Then spake the monk Andjrosius, asking him, 
" What said the king ? Did Arthur take the vow ? ' 

" Nay, for my lord," said Percivale, " the King 
Was not in hall : for early that same day, 
'Scaped thro' a cavern from a l)andit hold. 
An out'-aged maiden sprang into the hall 
Crying on help . for all her shining hair 
Was smear'd with earth, and cither milky arm 
Red-rent with hooks of lu'amble, and all she wore 
Torn as a sail that leaves the rope is torn 
In tempest ; 



" So the King arose and went 
To smoke the .seandaluus \n\v oi* those wikl bees 
That made such honey in his rcahn. Ilowbeit 
Some little of this marvel he too saw, 
Returning o'er the plain that then began 
To darken under Camelot , whence the King 
Ijook'd u]», calling aloud, ' J^o there ! the I'oots 
Of our great Hall are rolled in tinnidi'i'-sniokc ! 
Pray Heaven, they he not smitten by the boh.' 
For dear to Arthur was that hall of ours, 
As having there so oft with all his knights 
Feasted, and as the stateliest under heaven. 



" brother, had you known our mighty hall, 
Which MerUn built for Arthur long ago ! 
For all the sacred mount of Camelot, 
And all the dim rich city, roof by roof, 
Tower after tower, spire beyond spire, 
By grove, and garden-lawn, and rushing brook. 
Climbs to the mighty hall that Merlin built. 
And four great zones of sculpture, set betwixt 
With many a mystic symbol, gird the hall : 
And in the lowest beasts are slaying men, 
And in the second men are slaying beasts, 
And on the third are warriors, perfect men, 
And on the fourth are men with growing wings. 
And over all one statue in the mould 
Of Arthur, made by jNIerlin, with a crown 
And peak'd wings pointed to the Northern vStar. 
And eastward fronts the statue, and the crown 
And both the wings are made of gold, and flame 
At sunrise till the people in f\xr fields, 
Wasted so often by the heathen hordes. 
Behold it, crying, ' We have still a king.' 



" And, brother, had you known our hall within, 
Broader and higher than any in all the lands ! 
Where twelve great windows blazon Arthur's wars. 
And all the light that falls upon the board 
Streams thro' the twelve great battles of our King. 
Nay, one there is, and at the eastern end. 
Wealthy with wandering lines of mount and mere. 
Where Arthur finds the brand Excalibur. 
And also one to the west, and counter to it, 
And blank : and who shall blazon it ? when and how ? 
there, perchance, when all our wars are done. 
The brand Excalibur will be cast away. 

" So to this hall full rpiickly rode the King, 
In horror lest the work by ^lerlin wrought, 
Dreamlike, should on the sudden vanish, wrapt 
In unremorseful folds of rolling fire. 
And in he rode, and up I glanced, and saw 
The golden dragon sparkling over all : 



And many of those who l)urnt the hohl, their arms 
Hack'd, and their foreheads grimed with smoke, and 

sear'd, 
Follow'd, and in among bright fjices, ours, 
Full of the vision, prest : and then the King 
Spake to me, being nearest, ' Percivale,' 
(Because the hall was all in tumult — some 
Vowing, and some protesting,) ' what is this? ' 

" brother, when I told him what had chanced. 
My sister's vision and the rest, his face 
Darken' d, as I have seen it more than once, 
When some brave deed seem'd to be done in vain. 
Darken; and ' Woe is me, my knights ! ' he cried, 
' Had I been here, ye had not sworn the vow.' 
Bold was my answ^er, ' Had thyself been here. 
My King, thou wouldst have sworn.' 'Yea, yea,' 

said he, 
' Art thou so bold and hast not seen the Grail ? ' 

" ' Nay, Lord, I heard the«. sound, I saw the light, 
But since I did not see the Holy Thing, 
I sware a vow^ to follow it till I saw.' 



" Then when he asked us, kni.uht hv kniiiht, if aiiv 
Had seen it, all their answers were as one : 
' Nay, Lord, and therefore have we sworn our vows.' 

" ' Lo now,' said .Vrthur, ' have ye seen a cloud ? 
What go ye into the wilderness to see? ' 

"Then Galahad on the sudden, and in a voice 
ShriUino- along the hall to Arthur, callM, 
' But I, Sir Arthur, saw the Holy Grail, 
I saw the Holy Grail and heard a cry — 
Galahad, and () Galahad, follow me/ 




B^^tl: 3ir 



" ' Ah, Galahad, Gahihad,' said the King, ' for such 
As thou art is the vision, not for these. 
Thy holy nun and thou have seen a sign — 
Holier is none, my Percivale, than she — 
A sign to maim this Order which I made. 
But you, that follow but the leader's bell,' 
(Brother, the king was hard upon his knights,) 
' Taliessin is our fullest throat of song. 
And one hath sung and all the duml) will sing. 
Lancelot is Lancelot, and hath overborne 
Five knights at once, and every younger knight, 
Unproven, holds himself as Lancelot, 
Till overborne by one, he learns — and ye. 
What are ye? Galahads ? — no, nor Percivales' 
(For thus it pleased the King to range me close 
After Sir Galahad) ; ' nay,' said he, ' but men 
With strength and will to right the Avrong'd, of power 
To lay the sudden heads of violence flat. 
Knights that in twelve great battles splash 'd and dyed 
The strong White Horse in his own heathen blood — 



But one hath seen, and all the l)lin(l will see. 
Go, smce your vows are sacred, being made : 
Yet — for ye know that the cries of all my realm 
Pass thro' this hall — how often, O my knights, 
Your places being vacant at my side, 
This chance of noble deeds will come and go 
Unchallenged, while you follow wandering fires 
Lost in the quagmire? many of you, yea most, 
Return no move : ye think I show myself 
Too dark a prophet : come now, let us meet 
The morrow morn once more in one full field 
Of gracious pastime, that once more the king, 
Before you leave him for this Quest, may count 
The yet-unbroken strength of all his knights. 
Rejoicing in that Order which he made.' 

" So w^hen the sun broke next from underground 
All the great table of our Arthur closed 
And clash' d in such a tourney and so full, 
So many lances In'oken — never yet 
Had Camelot seen the like, since Arthur came ; 



And I myself and Galahad, for a strength 
Was in us from the ^•ision, overthrew 
So many knights that all the people cried, 
And almost burst the barriers in their heat, 
Shouting ' Sir Galahad and Sir Percivale ! ' 



■^o 



" But when the next day break from underground — 
brother, had you known our Camelot, 
Built by old kings, age after age, so old 
The king himself had fears that it would fall, 
So strange, and rich, and dim ; for where the roofs 
Totter'd toward each other in the sky. 
Met foreheads all along the street of those 
Who watch 'd us pass ; and lower, and where the long 
Rich galleries, lady-laden, weigh 'd the necks 
Of dragons clinging to the crazy walls, 
Thicker than drops from thunder, showers of flowers 
Fell as we past ; and men and boys astride 
On wyvern, lion, dragon, griffin, swan. 
At all the corners, named us each by name, 
Calling ' God speed ! ' but in the street below 
The knights and ladies wept, and rich and poor 
Wept, 



' ' And the King himself conld hardly speak 
For grief, and in the middle street the Queen, 
Who rode by Lancelot, wail'd and shriek 'd aloud, 
' This madness has come on us for our sins.' 
And then we reach'd the weirdly sculptured gate, 
Where Arthur's wars were render'd mystically. 
And thence departed e^ery one his way. 

" And I was lifted up in heart, and thought 
Of all my late-shown prowess in the lists, 
How my strong lance had beaten down the knights, 
So many and famous names ; and never yet 
Had heaven appear'd so blue, nor earth so green. 
For all my blood danced in me, and I knew 
That I should light upon the Holy Grail. 

" Thereafter, the dark warning of our King, 
That most of us would follow wandering fires. 
Came like a driving gloom across my mind. 
Then every evil word I had spoken once, 
And every evil thought I had thought of old, 
And every evil deed I ever did, 
Awoke and cried, ' This Quest is not for thee.' 



And lifting up mine eyes, I found myself 
Alone, and in a land of sand and thorns. 
And I was thirsty, even unto death ; 
And I, too, cried, ' This Quest is not for thee.' 

" And on I rode, and when I thought my thirst 
Would slay me, saw deep lawns, and then a brook, 
With one sharp rapid, where the crisping white 
Play'd ever back upon the sloping wave, 
And took both ear and eye ; and o'er the brook 
Were apple-trees, and apples by the brook 
Fallen, and on the lawns, ' I will rest here,' 
I said, ' I am not worthy of the Quest ; ' 
But even while I drank the brook, and ate 
The goodly apples, all these things at once 
Fell into dust, and I was left alone, 
And thirsting, in a land of sand and thorns. 

' ' And then behold a woman at a door 
Spinning ; and fair the house whereby she sat. 
And kind the woman's eyes and innocent, 
And all her bearing gracious ; and she rose 
Opening her arms to meet me, as who should say, 
' Rest here ; ' but when I touched her, lo ! she, too, 



Fell into dust and nothing, and the house 
Became no better than a broken shed, 
And in it a dead babe ; and also this 
Fell into dust, and I was left alone. 

" And on I rode, and greater was my thirst. 
Then flash 'd a yellow gleam across the world, 
And where it smote the ploughsliare in the field. 
The ploughman left his ploughing, and fell down 
Before it ; where it glitter'd on her pail. 
The milkmaid left her milking, and fell down 
Before it, and I knew^ not wdiy, but thought 
' The sun is rising,' tho' the sun had I'isen. 
Then was I ware of one that on me moAed 
In golden armor with a crown of gold 
About a casque all jewels ; and his horse 
In golden armor Jewell' d everywdiere : 
And on the splendor came, flashing me ])lind ; 
And seem'd to me the Lord of all the world. 
Being so huge. But wdien I thought he meant 
To crush me, moving on me, lo ! he, too, 
Opened his arms to embrace me as he came. 
And up I went and touch'd him, and he, too. 
Fell into dust, and I was left alone 
And wearying in a land of sand and thorns. 



" And I rode on and fonnd a mighty hill, 
And on the top, a city wall'd ; the spires 
Prick' d with incredible pinnacles into heaven. 
And by the gateway stirr'd a crowd ; and these 
Cried to me climbing, ' Welcome, Perciv;de ! 
Thon mightiest and thou purest among men ! ' 
And glad w^as I and clomb, but found at top 
No man, nor any voice. And thence I past 
Far thro' a ruinous city, and I saw 
That man had once dwelt there ; but there I found 
Only one man of an exceeding age. 
' Where is that goodly company,' said I, 
' That so cried out upon me ? ' and he had 
Scarce any voice to answer, and yet gasp'd 
' Whence and what art thou ? ' and even as he spoke 
Fell into dust, and disappear' d, and I 
Was left alone once more, and cried in grief, 
' Lo, if I find the Holy Grail itself 
And touch it, it will crumble into dust. ' 

" And thence I dropt into a lowly vale. 
Low as the hill was high, and where the vale 
Was lowest, found a chapel and thereby 
A holy hermit in a hermitage, 



To whom I told my phantoms, unci he said : 

" ' son, thou hast not true humility, 
The highest virtue, mother of them all ; 
For when the Lord of all things made Himself 
Naked of glory for His mortal change, 
" Take thou my robe," she said, " for all is thine. 
And all her form shone forth with sudden light 
So that the angels were amazed, and she 
FoUow'd him donn, and like a flying star 
Led on the gray-hair' d wisdom of the east ; 
But her thou hast not known : for what is this 
Thou thoughtest of thy prowess and thy sins ? 
Thou hast not lost thyself to save thyself 
As Galaliad.' When the hermit made an end. 
In silver armor suddenly Galahad shone 
Before us, and against the chapel door 
Laid lance, and enter' d, and we knelt in prayer. 
And there the hermit slaked my burning thirst. 
And at the sacring of the mass I saw 
The holy elements alone ; but he : 
' Saw ye no more? I, Galahad, saw the Grail, 
The Holy Grail, descend upon the shrine : 
I saw the fiery face as of a child 



That smote itself into the bread, and went ; 
And hither am I come ; and never yet 
Hath what thy sister taught me first to see, 
This Holy Thin^-, fail'd from my side, nor come 
Cover 'd, but moving- with me night and day, 
Fainter by day, but always in the night 
Blood-red, and sliding down the Ijlackon'd marsh 
Blood-red, and on the naked mountain top 
Blood-red, and in the sleeping mere below 
Blood-red. And in the strength of this I rode, 
Shattering all evil customs every wliere, 
And past thro' Pagan realms, and made tliem mine. 
And clash 'd with Pagan hordes, and bore them down. 
And broke thro' all, and in the strength of this 
Come victor. But my time is hard at hand. 
And hence I go ; and one will croAvn me king 
Far in the spiritual city ; and come thou, too. 
For thou shalt see the vision when I go.' 

" While thus he spake, his eye, dwelling on mine. 
Drew me, with power upon me, till I grew 
One with him, to believe as he l^elieved. 
Then, when the day began to w\ane, we went. 



" There rose a hill that none but man could climb, 
Scarr'd with a hundred wintry watercourses — 
Storm at the top, and when we gain'd it, storm 
Round us and death ; for every moment glanced 
His silver arms and gloom 'd : so quick and thick 
The lightnings here and there to left and right 
Struck, till the dry old trunks about us, dead, 
Yea, rotten with a hnn(h'ed years of deatli, 
Sprang into fire : and at tlie base we found 
On either hand, as far as eye could see, 
A great black swamp and of an evil smell. 
Part black, part whiten 'd with the bones of men. 
Not to be crost, save that some ancient king 
Had l)uilt a way, where, link'd with many a bridge, 
A thousand piers ran into the great Sea. 
And Galahad fled along them bridge by bridge. 
And every bridge as quickly as he crost 
Sprang into fire and vanish'd, tho' I yearn'd 
To follow, and thrice above him all the heavens 
Open'd and blazed with thunder such as seem'd 
Shoutings of all the sons of God : 



' ' And first 
At once I saw him far on the great Sea, 
In silver-shining armor starry-clear ; 
And o'er his head the holy vessel hung 
Clothed in white samite or a luminous cloud. 
And with exceeding swiftness ran the boat 
If boat it were — I saw not whence it came. 
And when the heavens open'd and blazed again 
Roaring, I saw him like a silver star — 
And had he set the sail, or had the boat 
Become a living creature clad with wings ? 
And o'er his head the holy vessel hung 
Redder than any rose, a joy to me. 
For now I knew the veil had been withdrawn. 
Then in a moment when they blazed again 
Opening, I saw the least of little stars 
Down on the waste, and straight beyond the star 
I saw the spiritual city and all her spires 
And gateways in a glory like one pearl — 
No larger, tho' the goal of all the saints — 
Strike from the sea ; and from the star they shot 
A rose-red sparkle to the city, and there 
Dwelt, and I knew it was the Holy Grail, 
Which never eyes on earth again shall see. 



Then fell the floods of heaven drowning the deep. 
And how my feet recross'd the deathful ridge 
No memory in me lives ; but that I touch' d 
The chapel-doors at dawn I know ; and thence 
Taking my war-horse from the holy man, 
Glad that no phantom vext me more, return 'd 
To whence I came, the gate of Arthur's wars." 

" brother," ask'd Ambrosius, — " for in sooth 
These ancient books — and they would win thee — teem,. 
Only I find not there this Holy Grail, 
With miracles and marvels like to these, 
Not all unlike ; which oftentime I read, 
Who read but on my breviary with ease. 
Till my head swims ; and then go forth and pass 
Down to the little thorpe that lies so close, 
And almost plaster 'd like a martin's nest 
To these old w^alls — and mingle with our folk ; 
And knowing every honest ftice of theirs. 
As well as ever shepherd knew his sheep, 
And every homely secret in their hearts, 
Delight myself with gossip and old wives. 
And ills and aches, and teethings, lyings-in. 



And mirthful sayings, children of the place, 
That have no meaning half a league away : 
Or lulling random squabbles when they rise, 
Chafferings and chatterings at the market-cross, 
Rejoice, small man, in this small world of mine, 
Yea, even in their hens and in their eggs, — 
brother, saving this Sir Galahad 
Came ye on none but phantoms in your quest. 
No man, no woman? " 

Then Sir Percivale : 
" All men, to one so bound by such a vow. 
And women were as phantoms. my brother. 
Why wdlt thou shame me to confess to thee 
How far I falter 'd from my quest and vow ? 
For after I had lain so many nights 
A bedmate of the snail and eft and snake. 
In grass and burdock, I was changed to wan 
And meagre, and the vision had not come, 
And then I chanced upon a goodly town 
With one great dwelling in the middle of it ; 
Thither I made, and there w^as I disarm 'd 
By maidens each as fair as any flower : 



But when they led me into hall, behold 
The Princess of that castle was the one, 
Brother, and that one only, who had ever 
Made my heart leap ; for when I moved of old 
A slender page about her father's hall, 
And she a slender maiden, all my heart 
Went after her with longing : yet we twain 
Had never kiss'd a kiss, or vow'd a vow. 
And now I came upon her once again. 
And one had wedded her, and he was dead, 
And all his land and wealth and state were hers. 
And while I tarried, every day she set 
A banquet richer than the day before 
By me ; for all her longing and her will 
Was toward me as of old; till one fair morn, 
I walking to and fro beside a stream 
That flash 'd across her orchard underneath 
Her castle- walls, she stole upon my walk. 
And calling me the greatest of all knights. 
Embraced me, and so kiss'd me the first time, 
And gave herself and all her wealth to me. 



W^^"^ 



I. .. 




i^h'-^- 



Then I remember'cl Arthur's warning word, 

That most of us would follow wandering fires, 

And the Quest faded in my heart. Anon, 

The heads of all her people drew to me. 

With supplication both of knees and tongue. 

' We have heard of thee : thou art our greatest knight : 

Our Lady says it, and we well believe : 

Wed thou our Lady, and rule over us, 

And thou shalt be as Arthur in our land.' 

me, my brother ! but one night my vow 

Burnt me within, so that I rose and fled. 

But wail'd and wept, and hated mine own self, 

And ev'n the Holy Quest, and all but her ; 

Then after I was join'd with Galahad 

Cared not for her, nor anything upon earth." 

Then said the monk, " Poor men, when yule is cold. 
Must be content to sit by little fires. 



And this am I, so that ye care for me 

Ever so little : yea, and blest be Heaven 

That brought thee here to this poor house of ours, 

Where all the brethren are so hard, to warm 

My cold heart with a friend : but the pity 

To find thine own first love once more — to hold, 

Hold her a wealthy bride within thine arms, 

Or all but hold, and then — cast her aside, 

Foregoing all her sweetness, like a weed. 

For we that w^ant the warmth of double life, 

We that are plagued with dreams of something sweet 

Beyond all sweetness in a life so rich, — 

Ah, blessed Lord, I speak too earthly- wise, 

Seeing I never stray'd beyond the coll, 

But live an old badger in his earth. 

With earth about him everywhere, despite 

All fast and penance. Saw ye none beside, 

None of your knights ? ' ' 

" Yea so," said Percivale : 



" One night my pathway swerving east, I saw 
The pelican on the casque of our Sir Bors 
All in the middle oi" the rising moon : 




And toward him spuiT'd and hail'd him, and he me, 

And each made joy of either ; then he ask'd, 

' Where is he ? hast thon seen him — Lancelot ? Once, 

Said good Sir Bors, ' he dash'd across me — mad, 

And maddening what he rode : and when I cried, 

" Ridest thon then so hotly on a qnest 

So holy ? " Lancelot shouted, " Stay me not ! 

I have been the sluggard, and 1 ride apace. 

For now there is a lion in the way." 

So vanish 'd.' 

' ' Then Sir Bors had ridden on 
Softly, and sorrowing for our Lancelot, 
Because his former madness, once the talk 
And scandal of our table, had return 'd ; 
For Lancelot's kith and kin so worship him 
That ill to him is ill to them ; to Bors 
Beyond the rest : he well had Ix'en content 
Not to have seen, so Lancelot might have seen. 
The Holy Cup of healing ; and, indeed. 



Being so clouded with his grief and love, 
Small heart was his after the Holy Quest : 
If God would send the vision, well : if not, 
The Quest and he were in the hands of Heaven. 

" And then, with small adventure met, Sir Bors 
Rode to the lonest tract of all the realm. 
And found a people there among their crags, 
Our race and blood, a remnant that were left 
Paynim amid their circles, and the stones 
They pitch up straight to heaven : and their wise men 
Were strong in that old magic which can trace 
The wandering of the stars, and scoff'd at him. 
And this High Quest as at a simple thing : 
Told him he follow'd — almost Arthur's words — 
A mocking fire : ' what other fire than he, 
Whereby the blood beats, and the blossom blows. 
And the sea rolls, and all the world is warm'd ? ' 
And when his answer chafed them, the rough crowd. 
Hearing he had a difference with their priests, 
Seized him, and bound and plunged him into a cell 
Of great piled stones : 



' ' And lying l)oundeii there 
In darkness thro' innumerable hours 
He heard the hollow-ringing heavens sweep 
Over him, till by miracle — what else ? 
Heavy as it was, a great stone slipt and fell, 
Such as no wind could move : and thro' the gap 
Glimmer 'd the streaming scud : then came a night 
Still as the day was loud ; and thro' the gap 
The seven clear stars of Arthur's Table Round — 
For, brother, so one night, because they roll 
Thro' such a round in heaven, we named the stars, 
Rejoicing in ourselves and in our king — 
And these, like bright eyes of flimiliar friends. 
In on him shone, ' And then to me, to me,' 
Said good Sir Bors, ' beyond all hope of mine, 
Who scarce had pray'd or ask'd it for myself — 
Across the seven clear stars — grace to me — 
In color like the fingers of a hand 
Before a burning taper, the sweet Grail 
Glided and past, and close upon it peal'd 
A sharp quick thunder. ' 



" Afterwards a maid, 
Who kept our holy f\iith among her kin 
In secret, enterino;, loosed and let him H'o." 



^&' 



To whom the monk : ' ' And I remember now 
That pelican on the casque : Sir Bors it was 
Who spake so low and sadly at our board ; 
^Vnd mighty reverent at our grace was he : 
A square-set man and honest ; and his eyes, 
An out-door sign of all the warmth within, 
Smiled with his lips — a smile beneath a cloud, 
But Heaven had meant it for a sunny one : 
Ay, ay, Sir Bors, who else ? But when y(^ reach'd 
The city, found ye all your knights return'd, 
Or was there sooth in Arthur's ju'ophecy, 
Tell me, and what said each, and what the King? " 

Then answer 'd Percivale : " And that can I, 
Brother, and truly ; since the living words 
Of so great men as Lancelot and our King- 
Pass not from door to door and out again. 
But sit within the house. 



"0, when we reach'd 
The city, our horses stumbling as they trode 
On heaps of ruin, 



" Hornless unicorns, 
Crack'd basilisks, and splinter'd cockatrices, 
And shatter' d talbots, which had left the stones 
Raw, that they fell from, brought us to the hall 

" And there sat Arthur on the dais-throne, 
And those that had gone out upon the Quest, 
Wasted and worn, and but a tithe of them, 
And those that had not, stood before the King. 
Who, when he saw me, rose, and bade me hail, 
Saying, ' A welfare in thine eye reproves 
Our fear of some disastrous chance for thee 
On hill, or plain, at sea, or flooding ford. 
So fierce a gale made havoc here of late 
Among the strange devices of our kings ; 
Yea, shook this newer, stronger hall of ours. 
And from the statue ^Merlin moulded for us 
Half wrench 'd a golden wing ; but now — the quest, 
This vision — hast thou seen the Holy Cup, 
That Joseph brought of old to Glastonbury? ' 

s' So when I told him all thyself hast heard, 



Ambrosius, and my fresh but fixt resolve 

To pass away into the quiet life, 

He answer'd not, Init, sharply turning, ask'd 

Of Gawain, ' Gawain, was this Quest for thee? ' 

" ' Nay, lord,' said Gawain, ' not for such as I. 
Therefore I communed with a saintly man, 
Who made me sure the Quest was not for me. 
For I was much awearied of the Quest , 
But found a silk pavilion in a field, 
And merry maidens in it ; and then this gale 
Tore my pavilion from the tenting-pin, 
And blew my merry maidens all about 
With all discomfort ; yea, and but for this, 
My twelvemonth and a day w^ere pleasant to me.' 

" He ceased; and Arthur turn'd to whom at first 
He saw not, for Sir Bors, on entering, push'd 
Athwart the throng to Lancelot, caught his hand. 
Held it, and there, half hidden by him, stood. 



Until the King espied him, saying to him, 

' Hail, Bors ! if ever loyal man and true 

Could see it, thou hast seen the Grail ; ' and Bors, 

' Ask me not, for I may not speak of it, 

I saw it : ' and the tears were in his eyes — 

" Then there remain' d but Lancelot, for the rest 
Spake but of sundry perils in the storm : 
Perhaps, like him of Cana in Holy Writ, 
Our Arthur kept his best until the last. 
'Thou, too, my Lancelot,' ask'd the King, ' my friend, 
Our mightiest, hath this Quest avail'd for thee ? ' 

" ' Our mightiest ! ' answer 'd Lancelot, with a groan ; 
' King ! ' — and when he paused, methought I spied 
A dying fire of madness in his eyes, — 
' King, my friend, if friend of thine I be. 
Happier are those that welter in their sin. 
Swine in the mud, that cannot see for slime, 



Slime of the ditch : but in me lived a sin 
So strange, of such a kind, that all of pure, 
Noble, and knightly in me twined and clung 
Round that one sin, until the wholesome flower 
And poisonous grew together, each as each. 
Not to be pluck' d asunder ; and when thy knights 
Sware, I sware with them only in the hope 
That could I touch or see the Holy Grail 
They might be pluck' d asunder : then I spake 
To one most holy saint, who wept and said. 
That save they could be pluck 'd asunder, all 
My quest were but in vain ; to whom I vow'd 
That I w^ould work according as he will'd. 
And forth I went, and while I yearn'd and strove 
To tear the twain asunder in my heart, 
My madness came upon me as of old, 
And whipt me into waste fields far aw^ay. 
There was I beaten down by little men. 



Mean kiiisfhts, to whom the moving of my sword 

.Vnd shadow of my spear had l)een enow 

To scare them from me once ; and then I came 

All in my folly to the naked shore, 

Wide flats, where nothing but coarse grasses grew ; 

But such a blast, my King, began to blow, 

So loud a 1)last along the shore and sea, 

Ye could not hear the waters for the blast, 

Tho' heapt in mounds and ridges all the sea 

Drove like a cataract, and all the sand 

Sw^ept like a river, and the clouded heavens 

Were shaken with the motion and the sound. 

And l)l;ickening in the sea-foam sway'd a boat. 

Half swallow' d in it, anchor' d with a chain ; 

And in my madness to myself I said, 

' ' I will end^ark and I will lose myself, 

And in the great sea wash away my sin." 

1 l)urst the chain, I sprang into the boat. 



Seven clays I drove along the dreary deep, 



And with me drove the moon and all the stars ; 

And the wind fell, and on the seAenth night 

I heard the shingle grinding in the snrge, 

And felt the boat shock earth, and looking np, 

Behold, the enchanted towers of Carbonek, 

A castle like a rock npon a rock. 

With chasm-like portals open to the sea, 

And steps that met the breaker ! there was none 

Stood near it bnt a lion on each side 

That kept the entry, and the moon was fnll. 

Then from the boat I leapt, and np the stairs. 

There drew my sword. With sudden-flaring manes 

Those two great beasts rose upright like a man, 

Each gript a shoulder, and I stood between : 

And, when I would have smitten them, heard a voice, 

" Doubt not, go forward ; if thou douljt, the beasts 

Will tear thee piecemeal ; ' ' 



' ' ' Then with violence 
The sword was dash'd from out my hand, and fell. 
And up into the sounding hall I past ; 
But nothing in the sounding hall I saw, 
No bench nor table, painting on the wall 
Or shield of knight ; only the rounded moon 
Thro' the tall oriel on the rolling sea. 
But always in the quiet house I heard, 
Clear as a lark, high o'er me as a lark, 
A sweet voice singing in the topmost tower 
To the eastward : up I climb 'd a thousand steps 
With pain : as in a dream I seem'd to climb 
Forever : at the last I reach 'd a door, 
A light was in the crannies, and I heard, 
' ' Glory and joy and honor to our Lord 
And to the Holy Vessel of the Grail. ' ' 
Then in my madness I essay 'd the door ; 



It gave, and thro' a stormy glare, a heat 
As from a seventimes-heated furnace, I, 
Blasted and burnt, and blinded as I was, 
With such a fierceness that I swoon'd away — 
0, yet methought I saw the Holy Grail, 
All pall'd in crimson samite, and around 
Great angels, awful shapes, and wings and eyes. 
And but for all my madness and my sin, 
And then my swooning, I had sworn I saw 
That which I saw : but what I saw was veil'd 
And cover' d ; and this quest was not for me.' 

" So speaking, and here ceasing, Lancelot left 
The hall long silent, till Sir Gawain — nay, 
Brother, I need not tell thee foolish words, — 
A reckless and irreverent knight was he. 
Now bolden'd by the silence of his King. 



Well, I will tell thee : ' King, my liege,' he said, 
' Hath Gawain fail'cl in any qnest of thine ? 
When have I stinted stroke in foughten field ? 
But as for thine, my good IViend, Percivale, 
Thy holy nun and thou ha^-e driven men mad, 
Yea, made our mightiest madder than our least. 
But by mine eyes and by mine ears I swear, 
I will be deafer than the blue-eyed cat. 
And thrice as blind as any noonday owl. 
To holy virgins in their ecstasies, 
Henceforward.' 

" ' Deafer,' said the blameless King, 
' Gawain, and Idinder unto holy things 
Hope not to make thyself by idle vows. 
Being too blind to have desire to see. 
But if indeed there came a sign from heaven, 



Blessed are Bors, Lancelot, and Percivale, 

For these have seen according to their sight. 

For every fiery prophet in old times, 

And all the sacred madness of the bard, 

When God made mnsic thro' them, conld bnt speak 

His music by the framework and the chord ; 

And as ye saw it ye have spoken truth. 

" ' Nay — but thou errest, Lancelot : never 
Could all of true and noble in knight and man 
Twine round one sin, whatever it may be, 
With such a closeness, but apart there grew. 
Save that he were the swine thou spakest of. 
Some root of knighthood and pure nobleness ; 
Whereto see thou, that it may bear its flower. 



" ' And spake I not too truly, my knights? 
Was I too dark a prophet when I said 
To those who went upon the Holy Quest, 
That most of them would follow wandering fires, 



Lost in the quaginire ? — lost to me and gone, 

And left nie gazing at a barren board, 

And a lean Order — scarce return' d a tithe — 

And out of those to whom the vision came 

My greatest hardly will belicAe he saw ; 

Another hath beheld it afar off, 

And leaving human wrongs to right themselves, 

Cares but to pass into the silent life. 

And one hath had the vision face to face, 

And now his chair desires him here in vain, 

How^ever they may crown him otherwhere. 

" ' And some among you held, that if the King 
Had seen the sight he would have sworn the vow^ : 
Not easily, seeing that the King must guard 
That which he rules, and is but as the hind. 
To whom a space of land is given to plough, 



Who may not wander from the allotted field, 

Before his work be done ; but, being done. 

Let visions of the night or of the day 

Come, as they will : and many a time they come, 

Until this earth he walks on seems not earth, 

This light that strikes his eyeball is not light. 

This air that snutes his forehead is not air 

But vision — yea, his very hands and feet — 

In moments when he feels he cannot die. 

And knows himself no vision to himself. 

Nor the high God a vision, nor that One 

Who rose again : ye have seen what ye have seen.' 



" So spake the Kin.u' ; I knew not all he meant, 




